Welcome Aboard

Posted on Mon Jan 2nd, 2023 @ 11:58pm by Fleet Captain Maxwell Culver & Commander Vianola Paxidor & Lieutenant JG Aurora House of Kor & Colonel Galen s'Khev

2,136 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Mission One: Goodwill Tour [Part One]
Location: Triton Seabase: Transporter Room
Timeline: MD3: 1700 hours

Captain Max Culver stood with his Executive Officer and second officer/Chief of Security. After the assassination attempt, he had recovered quickly, but not without side-effects. They were assembled to welcome their Starfleet trained Marine Biologist of unique character. Some kind of Klingon-fish hybrid. Max couldn’t wait to lay eyes on that one.

“USS Foster reports crew are ready for transport, captain.”

Looking at his comrades in arm, he pulled a bit of an unsettled face. Vi was her usual calm blue hue and Galen a mysterious gray now that he could sense their ‘auras’.

Aurora was a bit nervous. This was her first assignment after all, and she wanted to make a good impression. She had stayed up half the night getting her uniform spic and span and choosing what to braid into her hair to make it both stand out, and blend in. An excited shiver passed through her as she finished packing her belongings into her Academy bag and jogged to the transporter room.

Max smiled as the newly minted ensign beamed aboard. He could hardly wait to meet the newest arrival, an Aquadian/Klingon hybrid. Rumor had it that she had the ability to speak with Terran sea animals, he couldn’t wait to see if she had the same ability on this planet.

Max looked over at Galen, the ever stoic Romulan. As usual, he was quiet - even with Max’s new abilities of empathy and listening, Galen was quiet. He was about the only one. He could sense VI’s amusement and the overwhelming sense of excitement from their new arrival.

“Ensign Aurora of the House of Kor, welcome aboard,” Max said, sensing that he was much more excited than he should be, he chalked it up to absorbing the new arrival’s excitement.

As soon as Aurora beamed aboard with several other crewmembers, the Captain's personal welcome caught her off guard. "Oh! thank you, Captain. I am looking forward to serving under you," Aurora quickly recovered her composure and stretched out her hand in greeting. [Ok...that was QUITE unexpected. I'd say that this is a good indicator that this is going to be quite the adventure] Aurora thought as a small smile curled the corners of her mouth.

"Welcome aboard Ensign." Galen would have been lying if he said that the woman before him did not look interesting. It definitely seemed like Culver and he would have one hell of a interesting and diverse crew.

Vi stood behind both the Captain and XO. Usually she was the background decoration in meetings such as this unless security was a necessity. The new Ensign in front of them was definitely interesting to look at given the physical qualities of both Klingons and Aquadians. From a security stand point the Ensign was cleared to be there but it was nice to meet new people.

"Welcome to Triton, Ensign." Vi commented from next to her superiors.

Max intercepted the ensign again. “I’m sorry, I have to admit we’ve come to meet you because you’re the first Aquadian we’ve ever met,” Max explained. “If you’re uncomfortable with our curiosity, feel free to let us know. Shall we walk?” he asked Aurora and his command crew.

Aurora shook hands with the Commander and Security Chief, doing her best to hold back her soft snicker at their varied reactions. Aurora had learned early on how to read those around her so as not to draw attention or cause trouble...which was only half working. "Thank you both. Not at all, Captain. I'm quite used to beings being unused to my looks. I'm even a novelty among my own people. After you, Sir," Aurora waved her hand in invitation.

Galen fell in step with the rest of the group. This was behavior that he had not seen from the Captain, but he understood. For the first time it seemed that Culver really did want to learn about this new crew member. However, why not just read the file? Galen chalked this up to a difference between Romulan and Human cultures. Romulans preferred the distance that reading a file offered. But, Humans preferred the social interaction.

"So, is there anything specific you would like to know off the bat, Sir?" Aurora asked, taking in her surroundings as she walked. Aurora also kept her full attention on the ones she was walking with, especially Colonel Galen, who seemed to be studying her also, but that could have been Aurora's imagination.

Max could almost ‘sense’ the ensign’s color now. She felt almost yellow to him, but what his he couldn’t yet say. “I’m most curious about your ability to speak with Terran sea life. Do you know if that ability extends here?” Max asked first, ignoring the basic questions of her appearance.

Aurora blinked, surprised. "Well...that's usually a 'jaw on the floor cause I talked to an animal or bird' type question, but ok! As far as I know, I can only talk to Terran sea life...but no matter where I've explored, I always try and make friends with the aquatic life...though there is a bit of a language problem sometimes," Aurora snickered softly, amused by her new Captain's curiosity, and memories of problematic animal encounters.

“In the case of linguistics, would it help to assign a translation specialist with you, or nearby in a submarine, to assist with processing? We could boost the translation matrix in a submarine after we’ve had a full report from cetacean operations. Shouldn’t take much more than another week to have their assessments,” Max suggested. Already six bottle nosed dolphins and three Omura whales were roaming the waters, gathering data.

Aurora's jaw dropped in shocked excitement. "YES! I mean...ahem...that would be excellent, Captain. A week sounds like just enough to get set up and run a few tests of my own," Aurora adjusted her tunic to try and regain at least SOME of her composure. [Dang it! Why do I always act like an excited little kid when it comes to stuff like this!?] Aurora thought, huffing softly in exasperation.

Vi was slightly taken aback by the enthusiasm that this fresh faced new Ensign was showing. It was nice to see and she wouldn't want to change it but the feelings that came from her were quite chaotic and hard to follow. She seemed nice, and even though she was deep in conversation with the Captain she was still learning a lot.

Max was suddenly engulfed by the ensign’s exuberance and he tried to focus on himself and pulling his own emotions out of himself. “Good! We will bring the dolphins back aboard at the next Romulan city with their initial understanding of our new ocean planet. Our next stop is the Romulan’s first city built by them; it’s called Golden Towers. Three gold spires reach to the sky, the ground work is circular and the center is filled with ocean water. From the images I’ve seen, it’s beautiful!”

Aurora was ecstatic! "SQUEAL! It all sounds totally FANTASTIC!" Aurora couldn't help herself and twirled in a circle, stoked at meeting the dolphins, and about their pending visit to Golden Towers!

Max smiled and shook his head. “Ensign, and I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard this Terran phrase, but you might want to take the excitement down a notch,” Max said, unable to hide his amusement. “Not that I want you to lose your excitement, but I imagine our Romulan counterparts might find it off-putting.”

He glanced at his XO. “Isn’t that right, Colonel?”

Aurora rubbed her neck sheepishly. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll work on that. I guess I just want to approach everything with as much enthusiasm as I can. You only live once you know! I want to give my all to everything I do so that I 'leave it all out on the field' a Terran phrase a friend taught me in the Academy," Aurora grin was a bit lopsided.

Galen found the excitement annoying. However, he had been made to understand that Starfleet Officers were this excited when they got their first assignments. So, here they were. "You are correct Captain." He deadpanned in response to Culver's question.

“Thank you, Colonel. I thought your opinion would coincide with mine in the manner of reserved behavior when interacting with most Romulans. I don’t want you to lose your excitement over your work, or your posting, but try to be a little more circumspect around Romulans. At least, until you know the Romulan more directly.” Max eschewed his warning while walking. Their first stop was their current destination, the bridge.

“As I said, Ensign, welcome to Triton Seabase.” He spread his hands wide, inviting her to familiarize herself with the consoles before she was led by her department head to her laboratory. “She may be a small base, but we expect big things from her,” he finished his little pep talk, feeling much more himself than when they had started the tour.

Galen restrained an exasperated sigh at the reprimand that the Captain had just given. He should learn to follow his own advice. Galen thought. Max Culver was the most unreserved person on the station.

"If you have any security issues then my staff will be more than happy to help." Vi added after Max's optimistic opening. "There has been some issues with equipment going missing whilst in transit to the station so if anything pops up, let us know."

"Thank you, Captain, everyone, for everything. I look forward to serving under and beside you on this fantastic station," Aurora had been exploring while the Captain and Lt had been talking, taking in how streamlined everything was, yet still had a homey feel. She stopped and turned to them, lowering her head in respect, having finally reined in her excited emotions enough to where she didn't sound like a giddy school girl.

"Ensign, if you do not mind. I am going to need your consent to a small background check. All scientists aboard Triton will have to upload their findings to the Romulan Science Council. In order for you to do that, I have to get you Romulan security clearance, which unfortunately comes with a background check. All standard procedure I assure you," Galen said dryly. This was something he was going to have to do for a great number of the station's staff. A task he was not looking forward to.

"No worries, sir. You're not going to find anything there that's gonna be a problem...well...except maybe that little misunderstanding with a beluga whale last year. I accidentally called her a 'super lard' instead of a 'super guard'," Aurora snickered softly, a slight blush turning her cheeks a darker shade of brown/blue.

Galen nodded his ascent and took a mental note to contact Romulan Security to get the codes. He, of course, would do that after all the scientists had boarded the station. Get it done all at once. "I am sure that my people will find your expertise invaluable. We have never had someone with your skills at our disposal before."

Vianola listened to the three of them interact. For her, she was there more in capacity of the second officer, or so she felt. Ensign Aurora had already been cleared by Starfleet to get assigned here and her passes/clearances were already set up and ready to go. Still, she accompanied the CO and XO with the new Ensign.

Max watched as the current senior science officer arrived on the bridge. “Ensign Aurora,” he said courteously, “would you join me and we’ll get you settled in.”

"Aye, sir!" Aurora took a deep breath before skip...er...walking back to the turbolift. [Oooo! I wonder how close my quarters will be to the the tanks!] Aurora thought excitedly.

Galen stepped on to the bridge behind Culver and Aurora. "I will have the bridge, sir," he said as both a statement and question. He had spent more time on the bridge than the Captain did or at least that was what Galen thought.

Max settled into the center seat. “No need, Colonel. The bridge is mine. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the rest of the base, or take some time off. You’ve earned it.”

Vi had kept silent at the moment. She would return to her security duties once everything had been laid out. Her place was on really on the bridge due to the nature of her role as Security Chief of the station, and she kept a duty officer at the tactical station 'just in case'.

 

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